Since this Sunday, October 9, is International Earthcache Day, I wanted to share some of my favorites! These are in no particular order because it is just too hard to choose.
Table Rock Earthcache (GCMH1C)
Ontario, Canada
I have lived in New York my entire life and have visited Niagara Falls many times. It was only this past May that I had the chance to visit again for the first time as a geocacher. While the falls are stunning from anywhere, the view is much better from the Canadian side. For those that don’t know, there are actually two sets of waterfalls at Niagara Falls. The one pictured here is called the Horseshoe Falls. Even though I have visited many times, the falls still stun me every single time. GCMH1C
Eternal Flame Falls Earthcache GC10VMY
Orchard Park, New York
The Eternal Flame was something I had always heard about, but had never been to. A geofriend of mine decided to make this earthcache his 1000th find and of course a large group, including myself, tagged along to celebrate with him. This earthcache is definitely one that I would recommend to everyone. As the name suggests, it features a flame that burns continuously, due to gaseous fossil fuel escaping through cracks in the rock. Not only is it unique because of the flame, but it also has a waterfall that flows over it. GC10WMY
Penn Grade Crude Oil GC2BCBY
Bradford, Pennsylvania
My favorite thing about this earthcache is that it is at a McDonalds!! The McDonalds in Bradford, PA was built at the site of a working oil well. The oil well was originally drilled in the late 1870s. The rights passed through many hands over the years. By the 1970s, the surrounding area was becoming more urbanized and the city of Bradford tried to force the well to be plugged. McDonalds expressed interest in incorporating the well into their design plan and thus the well remained! This one of a kind well can still produce one barrel of Pennsylvania Grade Crude Oil per day. GC2BCBY
Speeding Along the Dinosaur Freeway GC1PR86
Morrison, Colorado
This earthcache is one of four at Dinosaur Ridge near Denver, Colorado. This one in particular was interesting because it brings you to a large area with tons of dinosaur tracks! There are over 335 tracks from 37 individual dinosaurs. This earthcache asks you to calculate the speed at which a particular dinosaur was traveling when the tracks were made. This can be calculated by measuring the footprint length and the distance between the tracks. This one really appealed to my nerdy side! GC1PR86
The Amazing Balanced Rock GC2QQGY
Colorado Springs, Colorado
As the name states, this rock amazed me. It is located in Garden of the Gods park in Colorado Springs, Colorado; about an hour south of Denver. The huge rock, which is made up of sand, gravel, silica and hematite, weighs over 700 tons! The rock is roughly 290 million years old. One can only wonder how long it can stay balancing like that. GC2QQGY
Do you have a favorite earthcache? Tell me about it in the comments!
And get out there this Sunday and find an earthcache!
